Perth, Almond Valley and Methven Railway


The Perth, Almond Valley and Methven Railway was a Scottish railway line that connected Methven with Perth. It opened in 1858.
A line onwards to Crieff was built from a junction on the line south of Methven; that line opened in 1866.
The Methven end of the line closed to passengers in 1937, but the trains to Crieff continued over the first part of the line and then the Crieff extension. The entire line closed to passengers in 1951, and completely in 1967.

History

As the Scottish railway network developed, the Scottish Central Railway opened its line from Castlecary, near Falkirk, to Perth in 1848. It was linked with the Caledonian Railway, giving a continuous line of railway from Carlisle, Glasgow, and London.
The Scottish Midland Junction Railway was authorised by Parliament at the same time and opened its main line in 1848, between Perth and Forfar, connecting there with other lines to connect to Aberdeen.
Towns that were not on the line of railway saw that they were at a disadvantage as the price of minerals brought in was high, and local manufacturers could not compete against connected towns' produce, because of the cost of transport to market. Local interests in Methven promoted a railway connection to the SMJR; the route would be easy, following the valley of the River Almond and a Parliamentary Bill was submitted. It obtained the Royal Assent on 29 July 1856, as the Perth, Almond Valley and Methven Railway; authorised capital was £25,000 with borrowing powers of £8,000.
The SMJR had amalgamated with the Aberdeen Railway, forming the Scottish North Eastern Railway in 1856, and the SNER inherited the obligation undertaken by the SMJR to contribute £7,000 to the shareholding.
The line opened on 1 January 1858.
The railway was worked by the SNER, and it was taken over by the larger company on 1 January 1864, although Parliamentary authorisation of the acquisition was not obtained until the following year.
For a time Crieff was reached from Perth over the railway to Methven and then by a connecting road coach; this continued until the Crieff and Methven Junction Railway was opened in 1866, running from a junction near Methven, effectively extending the Almond Valley line.
In LMS days the branch passenger service was light, and it was operated by a steam railcar produced by the Sentinel Waggon Works. The cars had a chain drive and did not have buffers. Thomas and Turnock quote a traveler's narrative of an evening journey; there was an air of self-consciousness in the unaccustomed intimacy of the saloon accommodation;
We seemed very near the ground and the small wheels made an unusual tapping noise as they almost sank into the rail joints. The Sentinel did well enough but we did wonder what would happen if the chain drive failed as, quivering with energy, she made the final steep hill into Methven.

The town of Methven declined considerably towards the end of the nineteenth century, and the Methven section beyond the junction for the Crieff line was eventually closed to passengers on 27 September 1937. The remaining section from Almond Valley Junction ran as a continuous route to Crieff until that too closed on 1 October 1951. Goods traffic continued to serve Methven until 25 January 1965, and the entire route closed on 11 September 1967.

Topography

The line ran from a junction north of Perth, aligned for through running from Perth. At Methven Junction, the Crieff line continued onwards, from the opening of that line in 1866.